Petition Asks New York Stock Exchange To Cancel 2013 Russia Day

Another chance to stymie the deepening of the pockets of Russian bazillionaires has popped up on Change.org. In place of Russian vodka this time around is the New York Stock Exchange's annual "Russia Day," designed to boost interest in investing in the Russian economy. Petition organizers point to the recent war on Russian gays at the hands of the country's leaders as its impetus for demanding the cancelation of this year's event.

The New York Stock Exchange and Goodwin Procter are lending their credibility to the effort to entice American investors into investing in the Russian economy. On November 18, 2013, the NYSE will host Russia Day, when leading Russian government officials — some of them the very architects of Russia's homophobic law banning any gay-positive speech and tacitly encouraging violence against LGBT Russians — will ring the closing bell at the stock exchange, to sickening applause from NYSE traders. That same day, Goodwin Procter, a major New York City law firm, will host a high-profile investment seminar called Russia Forum NY. It is shocking that the NYSE and Goodwin Procter are calling for investment in Russia. As was done to combat South Africa's apartheid, the call to Americans of conscience should be to divest from Russia, not invest. The NYSE and Goodwin Procter must cancel their Russia Day activities to send a warning to Russian government officials that Russia's abuse of basic human rights is bad for business.